Railway draft rigging



Oct. 10, .1933. J. F. OCONNOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Filed Jan. 28, 1929 1 hue/Zia] John/['0 (b n nar Patented Oct. 10, 1933 PATENT omcr 1,929,604.: R ILWAY DRAFT RIGGYING John F.- OConnor, Chicago, Ill., assig'nor'to W. r H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationJanuary 28, 1929. Serial No. 335,478

' 3 Claims.'- (01. 213-1) This invention relates .to'improvementsin railway draft riggings. 1

One object of: the invention is to provide .a railway draft rigging including the usual coupler means having shock absorbing mechanism cooperating therewith, adapted to be compressedin both buff 9 and draft, and outer follower means cooperating with the shock absorbing mechanism, the coupler having greater travel in buff :10 than in draft, wherein a sleeve is provided for supporting thelcoupler' shank to maintain the horizontal condition of the coupler, the sleeve being formed integral with the outer main follower, whereby, maximum extension of the coupler head beyond the outer end of the sleeve is limited to the travel of the same in draft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a railway draft rigging including'couplermeans and cooperating shock absorbing mechanisms '20 and an inner or rear stopcasting for the shock absorbing mechanism, wherein the stop casting has a integral extended portion forming the outer stopmeans for the shock absorbing mechanism.

Other and further objects of the in'ventionwill J mor'ecl'early appear from the description and connection therewith; Figure 2 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional" view, corresponding substantially' 'to the line 2-2 of Figure 1. And

I the sleeve is cut away at the rear end, as indicated Figure-3 is a vertical transverse sectional view; '35 corresponding substantially to the line 3-3 of Figurelr- I In said drawin ,10-10 indicate longitudinally extending spaced center sills of the railway car underframe, the sills being-of: channel shape cross'sectlon and extending from end to end ofthe car. The end sill of the car, which is of sub'stantially channel shape, is designated by 11 and has an opening 121therein which accommodat'es theshank of a coupler-l3.- ,The' coupler 13 is of the usual type and of standard size; a

portion only of theheadthereof being-illustrated in thedrawing; The bottom wall of the opening .12 isidefined by a, carry iron 14 secured'to the bottom flange of the ,endsill' and a-wear plate 650 '15 issupported on the carry ,iron. The usual 755 of the sills 10 and have reinforced coupler key receiving slots or openings .18. At the forward ends, the cheek plateshave laterallyextended' portions or flanges 19 which are secured to the vertical web of the end'sill l1. ,Aback stop casting 20 "is disposedbetween thesills at the body bolster 16, the same forming also a filler member and having theusual center pin receiving opening 21. The casting 20 is reinforced by intersecting longitudinaland transverse webs and also has forwardly extending strap-like top and 5 bottom members 2222 comprising spaced side arms and connecting transverse horizontal end sections 23 at the forward extremities thereof. The transverse sections-23 form the front or outer stop means of the railway draft rigging'm and the front face of. the filler portion of the casting 20 forms the'rear or inner stop member of the same. I

A sleevemember 24 houses the coupler shank and has theouter main follower of the draft rig- 7 ging formed as a part thereof. The sleeve 24 is of substantially rectangular transverse cross section and has spaced top and-bottom walls'25 and 26,-spaced side walls 2'7-2'7.and a transverse rear end wall;28. The transverse end wallr28 30 is of greater thickness than the remaining walls of the sleeveand functions as the outer follower of the draftrigging, cooperating with the inner sides of the transverse sections 23 of the strap members 22. As most clearly illustrated in Fig- 5 ure 1,the bottom wall 26 is downwardly offset at the rear end thereof, so as to accommodate the lower transverse section v23. The top wall 25. of

at 29, to accommodate the upper transverse section 23 and permit longitudinal movement of' the sleeve inwardly of the car. The side walls 27 of the sleeve terminate shortof the rear end thereof and are slotted at their inner ends, .as 7 indicated at 30-30, to accommodate the coupler 5 key. As shown in, Figure 2, the side walls are flared outwardly and'spaced from the side edges .of the coupler shank to permit a certain amount of lateral pivotal movement of the coupler with" respectto the remainder of the draft rigging;

is connected to the yoke by means of the usual coupler key 33 which extends through an opening in the coupler shanlgthe slots 32 of the yoke and the guide slots 18 of-the cheek plates of the; center-sills. v

head and maintain the same in the horizontal I position and in proper alignment with the shock absorbing mechanism of the draft rigging. The

top wall 25 of the sleeve also has a vertical flange at the forward end thereof, which is formed inte-. riorly of the sleeve and reinforces the same at the end portion thereof. The bottom edge of this flange, as clearly shown in Figure 1, is spaced an appreciable distance from the top face of the coupler shank.

A friction shock absorbing mechanism, comprisinga friction shell 34, cooperating friction shoes and a wedge member 36, all of well known form, is interposed between the front face of the filler casting 20 and the inner'end of the yoke '31. As will be understood, the usual spring resistance means is disposed within the shell '34 and cooperates with the friction means comprising the shoes and wedge member.

A spring shock absorbing mechanism is disposed within the yoke 31, the same including a rear follower member 37 in the form of a substantially rectangular block having longitudinally extending top and bottom spring-receiving pockets 3338 which open through the front end of the block and are closed at therear ends by an end wall 39.

The end wall 39 is transversely recessed, as indicated at 40, to receive the transverse section of the yoke 3l,whereby the outer face of the transverse section of the yoke will be flush with the rear end face of the block 3'7. Top andbottom spring members ll---41 are disposed within the pockets 38 and have their front ends bearing on the inner side of the outer follower member 28. Each of the spring members 41 preferably in-' cludes inner and outer coils. The front end of the sleeve is's'paced from the follower so as to allow a certain amount of compression of the springs 41 when the follower and block are moved relatively to each other and limit such compression by engagement of the follower with the block. In the normal position of the parts,

the coupler key 33 has the front edge thereof spaced a sufficient distance from the outer end walls of the slots 18 of the draft ,sills to permit of the maximum relative movement between the block 37 and the follower 28 in draft. The inner edge of the coupler key is spaced from the inher end walls of the slots 32 of theyoke a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the outer follower 28 and the block 37, so that the key will engage the end walls of the slots 32 at substantially the same time that "the follower engages the block, whereby the yoke and block 3'7 will move in unison during the remainder of the inward stroke of the coupler, the' force being then transmitted from the yoke to the wedge 36 of the friction shock abso'rbing'mechanism. The compression of the friction shock absorbing mechanism is limited by engagement of the transverse section of the yoke with the'front end of the friction shell, and also by'the follower block 37 engaging the shell.

As shown in the drawing, the follower block 37 and the friction shell 34 are supported in operative position by carrier plates. The normal spacing of the inner edge of the coupler key 33 and the inner end walls of the slots ,18 of the draft sills preferably exceeds the combined spacing between the follower 28 and the-block 3'7 and between the inner end of the yoke and the friction shell 34, thereby permitting freeinward travel of the key in buff during the entire compression stroke of the mechanism as both the spring and. friction gears are being compressed to the full limitof their movement.

In the operation of my improved railway draft rigging, assuming a buffing action being applied to the coupler, the coupler will be forced inwardly carrying the follower member 28 therewith and compressing the springs 41 against the end wall of'the block 37 and the transverse end section of the yoke 31, the pressure being transmitted from the yoke directly to the wedge 36 of the friction shock "absorbing mechanism, movement of the latter inwardly being resisted by the stop or filler casting 20. During the inward movement of the coupler, both the spring'and friction-shock absorbing mechanisms will be compressed, the compression of the spring shock absorbing mechanism being limited by engagement of the follower member 28 with the front end of the block 37'. After. relative movement of these parts has been thus limited, the block and-follower 28 together form a solidcolumn and transmit the actuating force directly to the'end of the yoke and. wedge 36 during the remainder of the compression stroke. The compression of the friction shock absorbing mechanism is limited by engagement pler during a buffing action, is thus equal to the i combined compression strokes-of thefriction and spring shock absorbing mechanisms. When the actuating force isreduced, the expansive action of the spring of the friction shock absorbing means will force the friction shoes and wedge block 36 outwardly, carrying the yoke 31 and the block 37 therewith. At thesame time, the expansion of the springs 41 of the spring shock absorbing mechanism 1 will force the follower member 28 outwardly until the same is arrested by engagement with the transverse sections 23 of the strap members 22. As the follower 28 forms apart of the sleeve 24, the coupler head will remain spaced the same distance from the outer end of the sleeve during the entire buffing stroke of the mechanism and during the releasing action following the bufling action. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the coupler head isnormally spaced only a slight distance from-the front end of the sleeve,- so that-the point of support of the coupler shank will beclosely adjacent thehead.

Assuming a draft or pulling action-as being applied to thecoupler; the same will be moved outwardly, carrying the yoke 31v therewith and compressing the springs 41 between the inner-end of the yoke and the follower member 28,'the. latter being held in fixed positionby engagement with the transverse stop sections 23 of the straps 22.

Outward movement of the couplerindraft'will This travel preferably does not exceed the normal compression of draft gears now employed in standard railway practice, whereby the coupler head at no time will be spaced such a distance from the outer end of the sleeve as to endanger the trainman, that is, the travel of the coupler head, with respect to the sleeve, is not great enough to permit the trainmans foot being caught between the parts and injured when the coupler head approaches the end of the sleeve. Upon the actuating force being reduced, the expansive action of the springs 41 will restore the yoke, sleeve and coupler to the normal full release position shown in' the drawing.

While I have herein shown and described what I consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications which come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim: a

1. In a draft rigging for railway cars, the combination with spaced center sills; of shock absorbing means between said sills; a coupler having a shank; a yoke connecting the coupler to said shock absorbing means; a rear stop casting having a forwardly extending loop member, said loop member including spaced side arms and a transverse front end section forming a front stop member; a carry iron at the end of the car fixed to said sills; and a supporting slide movable on the carry iron, the outer end portion of said slide normally engaging the coupler shank in supporting relation outwardly of the carry iron member, said slide overlapping the carry iron in all operative positions, said slide having an upstanding front follower plate member at the rear end thereof formed integral therewith, said follower plate having free top and free vertical side edges, said plate being'interposed between the transverse front section of said loop ing having a forwardly extending loop member, said loop member including spaced. side arms and a transverse front end section forming a front stop member; a carry iron at the end of the car fixed to said sills; and an outer follower plate cooperating with the shock absorbing means, said follower havingan integral sleeve portion guided on the carry iron and receiving the coupler shank, the outer end section of said sleeve normally engaging the coupler shank in supporting relation outwardly of the carry iron, said sleeve overlapping the carry iron in all operative,

positions of the sleeve, said sleeve immediately adjacent said follower platebeing open at the top and sides, and said follower plate being interposed between the shock absorbing means and the end section of said loop member.

3. In a draft rigging for railway cars,'the combination with spaced center sills; of a carry iron at the end of the car fixed to said sills; shock absorbing 'means between said sills; a coupler having a shank; a yoke connecting the coupler to said shock absorbing means, a combined rear stop and filler casting between said sills, said casting having top and bottom forwardly extending loop shaped members formed integral therewith, each loop shaped member including a pair of spaced side arms and a transverse front section, said front sections forming front stop means; and a combined front follower and support comprising a plate-like member .and asleeve, said sleeve having top, bottom and side walls, said bottom wall, extending rearwardly beyond said top and side walls, said plate member being at the rear end of said bottom wall and formed integral with said bottom wall, said plate being spaced from said top and side walls of the sleeve and interposed between the shock absorbing means and the front sections of said loop shaped members, said sleeve receiving the coupler shank and being guided on the carry iron, the forward end section of said sleeve normally engaging the coupler shank in supporting relation outwardly of the carry iron, said sleeve overlapping the carry iron in all operative positions of the sleeve. 

